Apparatus for treating shoe portions



June 28, 1932. F. RICKS ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHOE PORTIONS FiledApril 22, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l J1me 1932- F. RICKS ET AL ,6

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHOE PORTIONS FiledApril 22, 1929 2 Sheets-Shget2 Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED" STATES.

PA NT I E FRED RICKS AND HAROLD EENEsT ELLIOTT, 0F LEIo sTEIa' ENGLAND ASSIGNORS '10' UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, or rATER soN; NEWJERSEY, A- CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY APPARATUS FOR TREATING snoEronTroNs Application filed April 22, 1929, Serial No.

This invention relates to the treatment of such articles as shoe-uppersby a tempering or other treating medium, to prepare them for a makingoperation,such as pulling-over and lasting, and is particularly, thoughby no means exclusively, concerned with improvements in moisteningapparatus, such as is described in British Letters Patent No. 303,211,dated September 3, 1927.

An important'object of the present invention is to provide improvedconstructions of apparatus for tempering shoe-uppers, characterized bybeing to a very'high degree efficient, free from likelihood to injurethe work by water of condensation, and which will be relatively compact.This object we attain by means within a chamber, which may be lined withheat-insulating material, this means supporting, in a novel manner, theuppers or other articles in vertical series, together with means fordirecting a tempering medium longitudinally of and about the columnsofarticles, preferably introducing'it at the'lower end of the series and,withdrawingit "at the upper end. The treating medium, for example warm,moist air, may be supplied to the treating chamber through, and out ofgroups of openings in, an uprightduct near the center of saidchamber,around which duct the uppers,'nested on hangers, may be closelyarranged, they being also in'close proximity to the walls of thechambers. The treating atmosphere thus passes from'the duct up and aboutthe columns ofuppers, completely enveloping these, with little wastespace either inside or outside the work. Preferably the central memberor duct itself carries arms, on

which the uppers may be supported upon.

357,119, and in Great Britain m s, 1928;

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing the apparatus sufficiently to enableits construction and arrangement to be understood;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking from the right of Fig.1;

' Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale illustrating, in elevation, theconstruction of a.

hanger or work-carrier and suspension means therefor;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view on a still larger scale showing thesuspension means for the hanger and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showingone of the outlet-passages in a circulating duct.

It will be assumed that the apparatus is generally of the kind and forthe purpose of that described in the above-identifiedpatent,

save that such drying apparatus as is or may be used in conjunction withthenovel moist- I ening or'tempering apparatus now to be 'de-. scribedwill preferably form aquite' separate structure, possibly located atsome substantial distance from it in a shoe-factory.

' The apparatus is made up anumber of separate units or chambers 1,there being as many employed as maybe necessaryto treat thedesirednumber'of uppers. These chambers are arranged in two'groupsfincontact back to' b ack, as shown in Fig. 2-, and each in contact withits neighbor or neighbors in its row. That unit shown at the'right inFig; 1 is particularly adapted for shoe-uppers, and

that shown at the left in the same figure, for

longer articles, as boot-uppers. All the units are supplied with warm,moist air fromxa common air-circulating "and humidifyin'g" equipment ofthe general kind described in the previously mentioned patent, andsituated on the top of the present apparatus, the air being led into theupper portions of the chambers by branch-connections4 from a'supply-trunk 3 leading from the outlet of a fan 19. The air is returnedfrom the top of the chambers by branch-pipes 6 to a common trunk 5leading to the eye of the fan. There areprovided two water-sprayingnozzles 7 and 9 (Fig. 2), which arearranged in parallel andare fed withhot water from a water-bath 11 heated by a series of electric immersiondevices 13. From the bath, .hot water is delivered. to thenozzles by apump 15 indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1. The nozzles 7 and 9 arearranged side by side in a chamber 17 across the circulating path,

.so the air, which may be driven through said chamber 17 by the fan 19,will'be effectively warmed and moistened bypassing through the waterfrom the nozzles, this water falling back into the bath llafter havingimpinged against the roof of the chamber.

Each chamber l is preferably square in horizontal section, and is closedby a door 21 extending for its full width and from near the top to aboutone foot from the floor on which the units stand. The bottoms of thechambers maybe located some four or five inches up from the lower endsof the side walls, so thereis a space between the bottom and floor. Thebottom is shown as inclined downwardly from all sides toward the center,and is there formed with a drain-opening 24, and a'gutter 25 rests onthe floorand runs beneath the units through notches in the side wallsthereof beneath the drainopenings. The roof 27 of the chamber isplaneand inclined downwardly from front to rear. The roof, walls anddoor are lined with asbestos, or similar heat-insulating material, sothat contact of the tempering medium with metallic parts in prevented,as

far as may be. The lining is applied as far as possible in such a manneras to avoid all ridges or other. formations favoring ac mumulation ofany condensate, and consequent objectionable drippingQ The air-outletsffrom each chamber are shown as two circular orifices 29, 31 in the roof27, which open into a chest 26 (Fig. 2) secured on the roof and fromwhich the branch-pipes 6 lead to the trunk 5 thatsupplies the fan. Theseorifices 29, 31 are spaced on opposite sides of a central opening,surrounding which is a depending flange or hearing 34. Intothis bearingextends the-upper end of a vertical duct 33 situated "substantially. atthe central vertical axis ofthe chamber. The last-men tioned opening inthe roof delivers into another chest 35 (Fig. 1)1conne'cted by one ofthe branches 4 with the air-supply trunk 3 leading from the humidifyingchamber 17 over the drain-opening 24 in the bottom of the chamber. Thebearing 36 is provided with a'vertical hole communicating with thedrain-opening, so that any water which may condense in the duct mayescape through the drain-opening. The step-bearing closes the lower endof the duct, except for the vertical hole just mentioned; Any waterwhich may condense in the chamber outside the duct rnay find its way tothe sloping floor, and

down this to the drain-opening, which it may reach by passing throughgaps between the step-bearing and the bottom of the chamher. Atintervals down the length of the duct are openings 37, through which thetreating medium is discharged into the chamber from the chest 35. Avalve or damper (not shown) is located in the bearing 34 at the upperend or" each duct 33, and this valve may be controlled by-a handle 41(Fig. 2) on the end of its stem, to enable the operator to vary thesupply of treating medium to the duct. V V

If shoe-uppers are to be treated in the apparatus, they are preferablysupported on hangers of the kind shown in Fig. 3. These eachcomprisethree parallel uprights 45 extending from the opposite ends of inclinedarms 47 connectingtheir lower ends. These ends of the outer. uprights 45carry outwardly and downwardly extending fingers 48, and each oftheseouter bars may be adapted to have threaded on it a supply of uppers. Theuppers are nested upon each other in columns with the bottom edgesdownward, the fingers 48 supporting the foreparts,'and the arms 47 theheel-ends. The middle bar 45 of each hanger is somewhat longer than theothers,

and has an eye or hook .46 at its upper end,

duct, so that any condensate forming thereon may drain back along saidarms on to and down the outer surface of said duct.

In the arrangement particularly adapted for c the treatment ofshoe-uppers, which is shown in theri ht-hand chamber in Fig. 1,

Each of the orificesmay be surrounded by an twelve arms49 may bearranged on each duct 1 33,there being a group of three of such armsarranged 'circumferentially about said duct' 120 degrees from oneanother, andlthere being four of such groups spaced along the duct, asindicated. The spacing of the groups of arms along the duct issuch thata hanger suspended from any one of the three upper groups of arms willreach downwardlyto the arms 19 below; and each of these arms of thelower groups is provided with, a socket 51 1 (Fig. 3), in which thelower end ofsuch hangermay be received. Thus the hanger will beheld in asubstantially fixed position with relation to the duct, both at itsupper wardly through and around a column of nested uppers suspendedfromanarm above-it,

I and closely envelop said column. The lower end of such a column ofuppers will terminate on a level just a little higher than the top ofthe openings, and the upper edge 'of each opening is turned into theduct, as shown at 53in Fig. 5, while the lower end is turned outwardly,-asvshown at55, to direct the issuing air more or less in ahorizontalpath lying close below the lower end of thecolumn of uppers.Theair willgbegin to rise as it passes beneath the 0011111111, and willtherefore travel upwardly through and about them. Although, as stated,there are twelvearms 49 arranged on each duct 33, only nine of these thethree upper groupsrare adapted to 'support the upper ends of hangers,the lowest group being provided only to furnish sockets 51 to receivethe lower extremities of the hangers carried by the next higher group ofarms. Each of the sockets 51 is provided with a drain-opening 57extending through its rear wall, so that water of. condensation formingon the hanger and runningdown into the socket can escape through thedrain-opening to the ban ger-carrying arm, and thence to the outside ofthe duct 33; The diameter of c the. openings 37 in each group isslightly smaller the nearerthe group is to the lower end of the duct, togive a more uniform distribution of the air issuing from the duct. Forexample, theopenings beneath the group of arms second from theupper endof the duct may be one inch in diameter, the openings beneath the nextlower group of arms may be thirteen-sixteenths of an inch in diameter,while those below the lowest group of arms may be five-eights of an inchin diameter. Six openings 38, each three-quarters of an inch indiameter, are preferably arranged in the duct near the uppermost groupof hanger-carrying arms to allow the air issuing therefrom to maintainthe atmosphere more chamber, and preventing the'creation of a 29 and 31.Rotation of-the ducts 33intheir bearings permits the operator easily toapply hangers and remove them from any of the arms 49.,

In the unitshown at the left ofFig. 1, which is particularly intendedfor treating the uppers of leg-boots, anarrangement similar to thatalready described may be used, In this case, however, owing to theincreased size of boot-uppers, the duct is arranged to carry only sixhanger-supporting arms, preferably disposed in pairs at opposite sidesofthe duct, in three groups at different heights, It is more convenient insucha case ifthe duct is not rotatable, since part of the uppers mightbrush againstthe sides of the chamber if the duct were to beturnedwhileboot-uppers are carried thereon, Therefore, the step-bearing 36 may beprovided with a pair of stationary upstanding ears 60, betweenwhich aradial pin on the central duct may project, to pre-, vent rotation ofsaid duct. The arrangement of the step-bearing 36 at the lower end ofthe duct, and, the bearing 34 at its upper end, is

such that the duct maybe removed from the chamber; and anothersubstituted therefor,

by lifting it a little in its bearings until its a lower end may moveawayfroni the stepbearing, and then withdrawing it lower end foremostfrom the chamber; By the employment of the described organization, anyunit may readily beprovide'd with either of the duct constructionsshown, respectively, inthe twochambers in Fig. 1. y

In such an apparatus as has been described, there is a minimum liabilityfor, condensate to form, and when formed to reach the work. The wallsand door of each unit present unbroken plane, vertical. surfaces, andany condensate on the hangers supported on the central duct willeventually drain awaydown the central upright of the hanger tothe'outsideof the duct,-and down the-latter to the opening 24. Thesupplying of the w'arm, moist air from perforations in .the'central ductinsures efiicient treatment of theuppers arranged close about theduct,cthis resulting in a relatively large output of treated uppersfrom'achamber of given volume,- There-(is thus secureda compactnessofthe apparatus which is an important consideration in the usuallyrather crowded shoe-factories While claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the Unit-ed'States is Y 1'. In a tempering apparatus,a chamber, a member extending'yertically through the chamber near itscenter, means for'supporting articles to be tempered at differentheightsu on the member and located about proximity to the chamber-walls,and means 7 for circulating atempering medium through openings.

the chamber.

2. Ina tempering apparatus, a chamber, a lining of heat-insu1atingmaterial for the chamber, a 'member extending verticallythroughthechamber near its center, means for supporting articles to betempered at different heights uponthe member and located about it inclose proximity to the chamberwalls, means for circulating a temperingmedium through the chamber,'and meansvfor supplying moisture to saidmedium.

3; In an apparatus for treating shoe-portions, a chamber, a ductextending through the chamber and provided with openings, means forcreating a circulation through the duct, openings and chamber,projections from the duct, and holders each arranged to carry a seriesof shoe-portions and being supported by the projections. 7

4. In a tempering apparatus, a chamber, a duct extending verticallythrough the chamber and provided with openings, means for creating acirculation through the duct,

openings and'cha-mber, and work-supporting arms projecting from andbeing inclined downwardly toward the duct.

5. In a tempering apparatus, a chamber, a duct extending verticallythrough the chamber and provided with openings, means for creating acirculation through "the duct, openings and chamber, and work-supportingarms projecting from and being inclined downwardly toward the duct,there being a drain-opening in the bottom of the chamber at the end ofthe duct.

6. In 'an apparatus for treating shoe-portions, a chamber, a ductextending through the chamber and, provided with groups-ofoutlet-openings spaced from i one another, means for supplying atreating medium to the duct, and work-supporting arms projecting fromthe duct adj acentto the groups of '7. In an apparatus for treatingshoe-portions, a chamber, means for creating a circulation through thechamber, a member extending vertically through the chamber, groups ofarms projecting from the member and spaced from one another vertically,and means carried by adjacent groups of arms to engage oppositeextremities of hangers for articles to be treated.

with a socket to receive the lower portion of Y said hanger.

being spaced from one another, and means H carried by each arm forsupporting hangers for shoe-portions. I

10, In an apparatus for treating shoe-portions,'a chamber, means forcirculating air through the chamber, a member extendingverticallythrough the chamber, bearings in which the member may beturned, groups of arms spaced from one another along the member, thearms of each group being arranged circumferentially about said memher,and means carried by the arms to engage hangers for shoe-portions.

11. In a tempering apparatus, achamber, a duct extending verticallythrough the chamber and having openings, means for circulating atempering medium through the duct, openings and chamber, a step-bearingin which the duct may be turned, said bearingbeing provided with adrain-opening, and work-supporting arms projecting from the duct.

12. In a tempering apparatus, a chamber, a duct extending verticallythrou h the chamber and having openings, means or circulating atempering medium through'the duct, openings and chamber, a step-bearingin which the duct may be turned, said bearing being provided with adrain opening, and work-supporting arms projecting from the duct, saidarms being inclined downwardly toward the duct. 13. In a temperingapparatus, a chamber, a duct extending vertically through the chamberand having openings, means for circulating a-tempering medium throughthe duct,.openings and chamber, arms projecting from the duct, andhangers supported by the arms and having a central upright, up rightsoutside the central upright and arms connecting the outer uprights andcentral upright and being downwardly inclined toward the latter., V

14. In a tempering apparatus, a chamber, a duct extending verticallythrough the chamber and having openings, means for circulating atempering medium through the duct, openings and chamber, arms projectingfrom the duct, and hangers supported by the arms'and having a centralupright, up rights outside thecentral upright and arms conneoting'theouter uprights and centralupright and being downwardly inclined towardthe latter, there being other arms extending outwardly from the outeruprights and being downwardlyinclined'; n a

15. In a tempering apparatus, a chamber,

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a duct extending Vertically through the chamber and having openings,means for circulating a tempering medium through the duct, openings andchamber, arms projecting from the duct and carrying sockets, and hangershaving central uprights extending into sockets on the duet-arms,uprights outside the central upright and arms connecting the outeruprights and central upright and being downwardly inclined toward thelatter.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification.

FRED RICKS.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT.

